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Vilnius NATO summit will likely be a flop
Asia Times ^

Posted on 07/07/2023 3:44:57 AM PDT by FarCenter

US President Joe Biden will spend three days in Europe at the NATO Summit in Vilnius scheduled for July 11 and 12. The main topic will be Ukraine and where to go from here.

Ukraine is pushing for either immediate NATO membership or actionable security guarantees from NATO. But Ukraine’s position is undermined by the failure of the counteroffensive against Russia, and the failure of its attempts – via sabotage, assassination and lethal drones aimed at the Kremlin – to destabilize the government of President Vladimir Putin. Now Ukraine is saying it needs NATO air power to be able to win its war.

It will be very hard to get a NATO consensus on the road ahead, no matter how much arm twisting Washington uses on its European partners.

Europe is already in a recession thanks to the Covid catastrophe, the sanctions on Russian energy and the huge unemployment levels, which impact recent immigrants. The result of all that is social unrest across Europe. France is already experiencing a serious revolt, and while the French situation has eased in the past few days, it will come back.

Meanwhile, the German government coalition​ is steadily losing popular support and the AfD, Germany’s right-wing party, is now the second most popular party in the country. Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition partners don’t know what to do: They may try banning AfD as a last-ditch effort.

Italy is also far from out of the mess. The country has a conservative leadership but is being battered by unprecedented waves of immigrants coming from the Middle East.

Europe is out of money and out of bullets. It is not in a mood to give a blank check to Ukraine or risk a bigger war that might spread into Europe. President Biden will have a hard time trying to squeeze more from the Europeans.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: europe; nato; summit

1 posted on 07/07/2023 3:44:57 AM PDT by FarCenter
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To: FarCenter

I think it’s safe to say that whatever the right thing to do is, the exact opposite will be agreed upon.


2 posted on 07/07/2023 3:53:12 AM PDT by maddog55 (The only thing systemic in America is the left's hatred of it!)
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To: FarCenter
News from Asia about the war is fairly balanced, unlike the Western media, who always says Ukraine is winning and Russia is armed with shovels.

3 posted on 07/07/2023 3:54:25 AM PDT by Right_Wing_Madman
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To: FarCenter
Re: "Vilnius NATO summit will likely be a flop"

Are all of the NATO country political leaders meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania?

Lithuania is on the border of Putin Pal country, Belarus, and just over 100 miles from the Russian border.

Putin should invade Lithuania, which is a former Soviet colony, seize all the Euro, American, and Canadian leaders, and hold them hostage in Moscow!

The only ones we want back are Viktor Orban (Hungary) and the Right wing lady from Italy.

4 posted on 07/07/2023 4:22:42 AM PDT by zeestephen (Trump "Lost" By 43,000 Votes - Spread Across Three States - GA, WI, AZ)
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To: FarCenter

The purpose of the war is to deplete the military resources of Russia and the West and leave us defenseless. China is smiling.


5 posted on 07/07/2023 4:24:15 AM PDT by motor_racer ("We're gonna punish our enemies, and we're gonna reward our friends" - Barak Obama)
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To: FarCenter
But Ukraine’s the CIA's position is undermined by the failure of the counteroffensive against Russia, and the failure of its attempts – via sabotage, assassination and lethal drones aimed at the Kremlin – to destabilize the government of President Vladimir Putin.

Pardon me - small correction.

6 posted on 07/07/2023 4:46:19 AM PDT by AAABEST ( NY/DC/CA media/political/military industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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To: zeestephen

lmao


7 posted on 07/07/2023 4:47:09 AM PDT by AAABEST ( NY/DC/CA media/political/military industrial complex DELENDA EST)
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To: motor_racer

If that is the purpose it is having the opposite effect, it is leading to increased military budgets, new and refurbished weapon factories, increased weapon production and replacement of old stock with new and upgraded stock, NATO accepting new members and the organization being better unified and reenergized.

Our alliances in the Pacific are also improving, Japan has set out on the biggest military build-up since WWII, the American military is returning to Taiwan, Australia is buying nuke subs, the Philippines is inviting us back, and South Korea is on a military build-up, even India is looking at us more.

The Russian invasion is leading not only to massive new weapon production but our allies eagerly seeking our weapons after seeing the basic versions being handled by non-NATO soldiers in Ukraine and their effect on what was the world’s second-best military.


8 posted on 07/07/2023 5:07:20 AM PDT by ansel12 (NATO warrior under Reagan, and RA under Nixon, bemoaning the pro-Russians from Vietnam to Ukraine.)
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To: zeestephen

Battle of Prokhorovka, Kursk campaign, 12July 1943.


9 posted on 07/07/2023 5:23:22 PM PDT by bravo whiskey (Annie Savoy : The world is made for people who aren't cursed with self awareness. )
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